Buyback

A seller sends an offer to buy back an order that hasn't shipped. The buyer has 2 hours to accept it. If they do, they get store credit for that seller's shop and the order doesn't ship.

On LIVE, buyers often end up with things they didn't really want, from a Mystery Box, a card pack or an auction they got caught up in. Reselling it themselves is a lot of work. Buyback gives them a simple way out, and gives sellers a reason to welcome it.

How it started

It started with something sellers were already doing. Talking to sellers and looking at activity on Palmstreet, we noticed some Disney and collectibles sellers buying items back with a workaround: the buyer cancelled the order and the seller gave them a coupon. The seller kept the item, and the buyer got the value back to spend on something else.

It worked, but it was a hack, and it was clearly useful for these sellers. That was our signal to build Buyback into Palmstreet properly.

My role

I designed Buyback from 0 to 1, for sellers and buyers.

I worked through every round with my PM, the CTO and our Design Lead, and took it from a blank page to final designs in under 3 weeks.

A Buyback is a separate transaction on top of the original order. The original sale stays the same. It just doesn't ship.

1. 1

   Seller sends an offer

   Within 72 hours of the sale, for an order that's paid and hasn't shipped, the seller offers an amount in store credit.

2. 2

   Buyer decides

   The buyer has 2 hours to accept. If they don't, the offer expires. The seller can send another one, as long as it's within the 72 hours.

3. 3

   Credit, not shipping

   Once accepted, the buyer gets store credit for that seller's shop, and the seller keeps the item to sell again.

I looked at how other collectibles apps buy items back. StockX, Courtyard, GameStop and Arena Club all offer a buyback right after a reveal, and they make the offer the hero of the screen: the amount, big and clear, with one main action.

Scroll sideways · click to enlarge

We explored three directions for who sends the offer, and when.

We went with offers after the sale, for anything sold on LIVE.

Before designing any screens, I mapped the whole lifecycle for sellers and buyers, to get the PM, CTO and design lead aligned on how Buyback should work.

Buyback touches money, orders and shipping, so every step, outcome and order state had to be agreed first. Here's the map, updated with where we landed: buyers accept or let the offer expire, and each offer lasts 2 hours.

The trickiest part was the content on the Buyback card: making it easy to understand at a glance, with as few words as possible, for both sellers and buyers.

Seller

For sellers, the card had to show why it's worth it: no shipping, the item back in stock, and a buyer who comes back.

• Tweaked the copy a few times, so each benefit fits in one short line.
• Moved things around, bringing the order card to the top. This example has one item, but the same design works for orders with more, and sellers can tap View details to see them all.
• Made the why collapsible. Once a seller knows how Buyback works, the Why sellers use Buyback section folds away, so the card stays compact.
• Kept a help centre link for anything the card doesn't cover.

Buyer

For buyers, the first versions said too much. I cut it down until the offer read in a glance.

• Removed decline. Buyers accept, or let the offer expire and the order ships as normal.
• Simpler copy, so buyers quickly understand it's store credit for this seller, not a refund.
• Kept a help centre link, since buyers have time to read up before accepting.

Buyback is new, so sellers need to know it exists before they need it.

I looked at where sellers already spend time in their regular flow and added a small card there, which they can dismiss. The Sold tab was the obvious place, but by then it could be too late. So the card also shows up before the LIVE, while sellers are adding listings, and at the bottom of a Mystery Box, where buying items back fits most naturally.

The card is meant to introduce Buyback, not nag. It only shows up for a seller's first few days with the feature, and they can dismiss it anytime.

Once sellers know why, sending an offer takes a few taps, during the LIVE or after it.

Once an offer is out, sellers can edit or withdraw it while it's active. When the buyer accepts, the seller sees it in the chat and on the listing, and the order drops out of their shipping list.

Each sold listing also shows where its Buyback stands, so the seller always knows whether to ship.

For buyers, the offer had to feel like good news at first glance, and be impossible to misread.

The amount is the hero, so it reads like something you got. But right next to it, I made three things clear: it's store credit, not money back. It only works in this seller's shop. And it covers the whole order, including shipping and taxes.

I started with Buyback on LIVE, but we wanted it outside the LIVE too for the MVP. Running a show is already a lot, so some sellers need time after it ends to decide which orders to send offers for.

Seller

After the show, sellers can go through their orders and send an offer from the order page, using the same offer sheet as on the LIVE.

While an offer is out, the order is marked Buyback pending and can't be shipped until it's resolved (more in edge cases). Once it's accepted, the order no longer needs to ship, and the payment shows up in the seller's earnings.

Buyer

Buyers might not be in the app when an offer lands, and they only have 2 hours. So it reaches them wherever they are: a notification, their activity, a message from the seller and the order itself.

From there, it's the same offer and confirmation as on the LIVE. Once accepted, the order is marked completed and the credit shows up in their wallet, tied to the seller who gave it.

Order timeline

The order timeline in the product keeps both sides in the loop. These are the states it shows the seller and the buyer, based on the status of the Buyback.